Thanks! I was dosing Excel about every other day. Some iron and potassium every 3 days. In addition I add Flourish Comprehensive twice a week. I would say...it hasn't gotten me spectacular growth and has led to a slight algae bloom on my driftwood, but so far so good.

HC was melting away for a bit but decided to leave it planted and see if it would make a recovery. New leaves are coming out. Do you think it'll make a recovery with CO2 and better lighting? It's been pearling the past few days.

Oh my gosh! That tank looks amazing and that betta is gorgeous! What seller did you buy the fish from? Thank you for sharing all the information. I am planning a NPT for the future and want to learn as much as I can!

Tabbie if you an't afford the CO2 and fancy things yet, I had started 4 planted tanks with low light and low maintenance plants and they still grew like crazy. You could always start with that. I went away for a month and when I came home I was like "OMG what jungle is this tank? I can't believe I have to take plants OUT for once", lol

@Tabbie82. No problem at all! Thanks for the great feedback. I purchased the betta off of Aquabid. It may sound daunting to buy live fish from overseas but I must say the process was relatively stress free. And I agree with mursey. Low maintenance tanks can still flourish really well, even without CO2. I decided to go with the CO2 and ferts to boost growth and get that jungle faster. Best of luck!